Belt and Road Has Committed $500 Billion in Developing Countries

March 25, 2019 (EIRNS)—India’s Business Standard newspaper today reported, in “Belt and Road Gives Boost to China’s Outbound Investments,” that “From 2014 to 2018, China has committed an investment of more than $1 trillion in about 1,700 projects in 130 nations across the world. More than half of it has been in countries which are part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was announced in late 2013.”

The data and charts which Business Standard cites are from “data maintained by ... American Enterprise Institute.” The daily says, “China’s outbound direct investment (ODI) doubled after the wheels of the BRI were set into motion. Their chart 1 shows that the scale of Chinese ODI rose above $200 billion for three consecutive years post-BRI.”

This puts it on the same scale as China’s investment in its own, now vast, high-speed rail network during those years—actually, 30-35% greater.

“More than half of the investments after 2014 were in regions along the Belt and the Road. Emerging economies were key beneficiaries of BRI-related investments,” while China’s investment initiatives in advanced economies remained relatively constant and on a separate track.

The study also finds that the BRI infrastructure investments and commitments have not been concentrated in a few large developing countries.

“The financing of projects along the BRI was relatively well distributed among the recipient countries. The top 10 countries constituted only a fourth of total investment along the BRI in 95 countries.”